"The Brixton is bringing eight years of experience with the sporty Marina crowd to a new SoMa location by the ballpark, where opening day is scheduled for May 3. The space, the former Paragon at 701 2nd Street, is nearly foul ball distance from the newly rechristened Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. But game day crowds won’t be the entire focus of the restaurant, owners say. Brixton’s new location hopes to foster a lively bar scene and serve an eclectic food menu with southern influences, playing a “hybrid role” in the words of Banks White, previously chef of the Brixton’s sister SF restaurant, the Rambler, and now the group’s culinary director. “It’s by the ballpark, a block away, but the people that live there 365 days of the year want a neighborhood restaurant they can rely on, and know that Derek [Schuette, the location’s general manager] will take care of them during service.” Brixton founders Adam Snyder, Hugo Gamboa, and Andy Wasserman (their LLC is Hat Trick Hospitality) all scouted the SoMa stretch to see what might be missing from the area’s dining scene. “Some of the restaurants just cater to the ballpark crowd,” says Gamboa — but Bud lights and wings can only go so far. “We want something a little more well rounded.” Snyder might be most familiar with the area: He lived in the building above the restaurant for years. “The people in that building say they’re starving for a restaurant of our nature in that neighborhood,” he says. To eat, White has a menu including roasted brassicas (with herbed freekah and house made cashew cheese), short rib grilled cheese (caramelized onions, smoked cheddar, frisée, and wild baby arugula), and a big burger with chili and pimento cheese. For another Southern touch, there’s skillet butter poundcake, which White describes as “very Texas grandma.” His own made it just for him: “It was my special thing,” he says. The bar will serve beer, wine, and cocktails including a Bloody Mary made with the Brixton’s own barbecue or red pepper sauce. GM Derek Schuette calls the remodeled Paragon space “darker, much richer,” and says its hardly recognizable from before as designed by Lori Yeomans. Paragon closed without warning back in 2017. Yeomans is also in charge of Hat Trick Hospitality’s remodel of its original Cow Hollow Brixton location on Union Street. Chef White is adding his touches to an updated menu there, too. Seating at the new Brixton was laid out with different customers and uses in mind: A 24-foot bar for a quick beer and a burger, a communal table section, banquettes, and a cafe seating area for posting up with a laptop and a coffee (in front of a retractable door opening onto 2nd). For groups, there are two private dining rooms, one called 24 and one called 44: Nods to the numbers of Giants greats Willie Mays and Willie McCovey." - Caleb Pershan
